My name is Tony Lacayo , I am the director for the Life Skllls Program, one of the programs the Multicultural Institute, a none profit organization, offers to the community. Under this program is the Job Placement Assistance, which through this program we have been working with the Day Laborer population at Hearst' Corridor for the last 2 years and half. One of our main objectives is to create bridges between those who need to hire a day labor for a few or some days of work and the day laborer. We are not a job agency, but we a bridge connection between you and the day laborer. For information,please contacts us at, 510-847-8714 or 848-4075 ext 10. or visit our website www.mionline.org

Sincerely
Tony Lacayo
Life Skills Program Director
tony AT mionline.org

Help! Today, a Contra Costa County DA's office investigator
followed my landscaper (who had just picked up two day laborers
in Concord) to my house. The landscaper was droping off the
laborers to work on my backyard. Apparently the DA's office is
trying to crack down on contractors/home owners who don't pay
workman's comp.

I'm obviously concerned that 1) I will be fined and 2) I could
be prosecuted. So many people in the Bay Area use day laborers
for work, and don't pay workman's comp. How can you pay
workman's comp to someone who is here illegally and does not
have a social security number? I pay the workers a good wage,
provide them drinks, snacks and buy lunch if I'm able to. I also
am concerned about their well being - making sure they take
breaks, come under the patio when it rains, and tipping them
above their wage. Yet, I don't pay workman's comp for their
safety. Am I in deep trouble with the law here? Will they (DA's
office) make an ''example'' out of a suburban house-mom and
prosecute me? Does anyone have any experience with this sort of
situation.
I want to do the right thing

First of all.. it's against the law to hire undocumented workers.
Why? Because, you, the employer are not paying the state the money
it will use to cover that employee if he/she gets injured on
the job. All employers are supposed to pay workman's comp..
it's the law. It's there to protect the worker. It's that
simple.

If you say you want to do the right thing, then higher a
landscaper who only hires legal workers. Why is your landscaper
picking up workers anyway? Is he your middleman? Do you pay him
and then he pays the workers? If that's the case.. you can bet
the workers are not being paid very well. You say you pay the
workers a good wage.. and if you really do pay them
directly .. is your wage good enough so that the worker has
something to 'fall back on' if he/she hurts themselves at your
house? And big deal if you provide them with a snack and make
sure they take their breaks.. does that mean if you're not
around they go without breaks and have no lunch?

So what if everyone does it, that's the problem. The
undocumented come here to work.. and many, many, many of them
do get injured on the job and you and I and every taxpayer in
the state gets stuck with the bill when they go to the
hospital. Wonder why healthcare is so expensive, wonder why
hospitals are closintg down ER's. It's because of the huge
number of people without any protection.. w/out workman's comp
coming in for treatment. If there's no workman's comp to pay
for their treatment.. where do the facilities get their money
from?? Us, the taxpayers!!

Your portrail of yourself as a ''suburban house-mom'' is no
cause for pity. Oh.. you may very well get hit with a big
fine.. and depending on how nasty the DA is feeling.. you could
get prosecuted. That would be justice. Remember, you are
BREAKING THE LAW!
ANON

If you're a homeowner, check with your insurance rep - my home
owners insurance carries a rider for employing this type of
non-regular employee... If i were to hire a ''regular'' employee to
perform services for me on an on-going basis, e.g., a
housekeeper, then I'd need to get a different rider/policy to
cover him/her.
SOME rules are there for a reason
As an employer (and yes, you are an employer when you hire day
laborers) you are responsible for providing workers'
compensation for your workers. A better way, which will not be
quite as cheap, is to hire your workers from a firm like Labor
Ready, which does pay workers' compensation for their employees.

Illegal is illegal. Sorry.
workers' compensation professional

That's a complex question that you're asking. As a landscaper and former employer,
I'll do my best to help you sort it out.

First off, you can't pay Workers Comp for someone who is not a payroll employee,
and you can't put an illegal worker on a payroll. The DA's office is actually more
interested in the issue of payroll taxes not being paid than the are in the Workers
Comp issue. Your landscaper may have been followed randomly, or he/she may
already be under investigation for not doing a legal payroll. Or, the landscaper may
be under investigation for something else, like not paying child support.

It is your landscaper who is primarly breaking the law by hiring/providing illegal
laborers. Workers Comp is very expensive these days, payroll taxes are not cheap
for an employer, and he/she is obviously trying to avoid those expenses by using
illegal workers. He/she may justify it as saving you money on the cost of the job,
although it is likely increasing his/her profit as well.

You don't say whether you are paying the workers directly, or if you pay the
landscaper who in turn pays them- ? If it is the former, you hold more liability than
if it is the latter. If the landscaper is paying them, you are pretty much off the
hook legally, but your ethical concerns are well-founded.

If a worker is hurt on the job, their employer (whether they are employed legally or
not) is responsible for all of that person's medical treatment, lost wages, vocational
rehabilitation, and in the worst case scenario, survivor benefits. However, few
illegals are going to claim these rights, since they know that it will lead to
deportation. This puts the employer of illegals in a very powerful, and unfair,
position.

Yes, many many contractors do this, and they do it primarily to save money and
increase their profits. They also do it because customers want to pay as low a price
as possible for a job, and it is a very competitive market out there for contractors.
By hiring illegals (or any under the table workers) they can lower their price and
still
increase their profit.

Another reason that contractors hire illegal workers, which I can say as a former
employer in this field, is that it is quite difficult to find good labor to hire. Most
native born Americans look down on it and don't want to do it. And foreign born
people who are eligible for citizenship are eligible because they have well-paying
marketable skills and permanent job prospects. Those guys who stand out there on
the street corner waiting for work are not well educated, they are from cultures
where physical work is a part of everyday life, and they have come here at great risk
because it is so hard to make a living in their home countries. Most live here
separated from their families, who they send most of their wages to.

Now for my little editorial, and I am not directing this to you- I admire your ethics
and intentions to do the right thing. This is a gripe of mine as a licensed contractor
who does everything legally (i.e. expensively= high overhead). Many homeowners
want the cheapest price for a job and don't want to think about what makes that
price possible. Cheap, under the table labor labor is a major way to cut the cost of a
job. Of course there are other ways as well that the homeowner pays for in the end,
such as using low quality materials, not fully studying the job before bidding it and
then presenting expensive change orders, etc. Not carrying liability insurance
(expensive, not required by law) is another way, but it leaves the homeowner
unprotected if there is immediate or eventual damage to their property as a result of
the job. If a homeowner chooses to do so, there are ways to investigate all these
things before choosing a contractor, and to take them into account rather than
grabbing the cheapest price.

(Second editorial: the laws regarding workers like these need to be changed! They
are filling a need, and in work like this they are not in reality taking jobs from
Americans who don't want to do the work anyway. There needs to be a way for them
to come here temporarily to work and to have their health and rights protected.
They are the people at the bottom of the heap who are being carelessly sprayed by
pesticides in agricultural work.)

You will probably get some replies that will tell you not to worry because your
homeowners policy covers you for Workers Comp in situations like this. But I'm not
so sure that it does in the case of illegals. You can talk with your insurance broker,
but they may not know the answer and they may not be willing to get into it since it
could put them in the position of advising you to do something illegal.

Finally, I would suggest that you speak to your landscaper about this issue and see
how he/she responds- it will give you some clues to their overall honesty,
professionalism, and competence. If you have come to feel uneasy about them over
this or any other issues, I'd advise reviewing your contract with them and making
sure that you are in fact getting what you are paying for.
Cecelia

I'm not sure, but it seems to me that the D.A. is going after
your landscaper, NOT you. Your landscaper is the person who is
supposed to pay worker's comp for his employees in case they get
injured on the job.

You should also realize that Worker's Comp Ins. in California is
VERY VERY high. It's one thing, as you say, to want to give
employees breaks, lunch, a fair wage: what about paying 36% of
their wage to the California State Fund, on top of other fees. It
means paying an add'l $3.50 an hour, for example, to the govt for
every hour for each employee on your site.

It's about money. Please check with your landscaper. I'm sure he
is the target, not you. He may have unreported employees and
that's a shame, because if they get injured, they really are out
of luck.
construction office worker

We are remodeling our house for the first time. The experience
of having many workers around is new to us. I was wondering
what most people provide them with. Bottles of water? Sodas?
Coffee? Cookies? Bathroom? Gratuities? The first day I offered
them coffee, but they declined, so I've just been letting them
do their work without interrupting them. I would appreciate any
advice on what is expected.
Thanks!
Remodeler

Good question! When we have hired day laborers we provide
a cooler with sodas & waters, a radio, and lunch (pizza,
burgers, mexican). We have always negotiated an hourly
rate up front and then usually add a little extra.
Susan
When we have workers here I often offer them some kind of
treat in the afternoon, especially in hot weather. Nothing
too fancy-- anything from cold lemonade, cookies/milk to
ice-cream sandwiches. They work so hard I feel like it is
the least we can do. I leave the food for them in the space
that they are working so that they can take whatever it is
as they please. They always seem most appreciative.
lisa
Our motto is: a happy laborer is a hard working laborer.
We've hired day laborers on several occassions and always
offer them water, sodas, snacks and use of the bathroom.
We hire them through Manos (in Oakland) and, since they
are invariably good workers, pay them more than the
requested $13/hour. I always offer them a ride to BART or
bus at the end of the day.
Patrick

We will be moving in a few weeks and can do about 80% of it
ourselves. However, we have a number of pieces of
furniture that will be tough for the two of us to move as
they are heavy and we will have a toddler running around. I always notice guys down in the 4th street area looking
for day jobs and thought perhaps we could hire several of
them for a couple of hours to help my husband with the
heavy stuff. Any recommendations on how to do this
respectfully, ethically and legally? Can I just
drive up and ask if anyone is interested in the job (I
speak Spanish), or is there some sort of person
unofficially in charge? Fair wages for this sort of job? Any other hints?
thanks

Response to person considering hiring day laborers along
4th street for move: the Multicultural Institute (which I
believe is associated with St Joseph's the Worker Church)
runs a day laborer program from a van near 4th street. (Last time I looked it was parked on Hearst near the
railroad tracks.) They keep a list of workers with their
skills, and can help you hire a worker and negotiate a
fair wage. I would stop there first.
Dan